Cockamamy, an adjective meaning ludicrous or nonsensical. But also, a new play, by Louise Coulthard, which previewed at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, followed by an award-winning run at last years Edinburgh Fringe. It centres on 25-year-old Rosie (Coulthard) and her grandmother Alice (Mary Rutherford). They live together, eat, sleep, and watch television together. All is seemingly well, until Rosie meets Cavan (Roman Polonski) and begins to spend less time at home, and Alice starts exhibiting strange behaviour. She mistakes Rosie for her late daughter, misplaces money, puts cans of Spam in the bathroom cabinet. You know, the usual. It becomes clear that Alice is deteriorating, and Rosie is stuck between caring for her every whim, and moving on in her new life with Cavan.

The story itself is sweet, if a little half-baked. There are parts that would make the dynamic between grandmother and granddaughter more complicated, and could be fleshed out more, like Rosie’s aspirations of becoming an artist, which is only mentioned briefly and obviously hindered by her life caring for her grandmother. It is intermittently funny, sometimes a little off-pace, but it ultimately captures one notion perfectly, and that is the resentment that builds when having to care for a loved one. The programme states Cockamamy is “based on a true story”, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it is from Coulthard’s life, as in her writing she captures so well the frustration of caring for someone who you love, but also wanting and needing to put yourself first. There are some dodgy moments, like Rosie’s bizarre half-hearted attempt at smothering her own grandmother, but I still understand it in theory. Overall, she’s captured the messy moments that come with such self-sacrificing, and what an unhealthy relationship it can breed.

Rutherford is charming as Alice, and plays the ‘confused old lady’ extraordinarily well. She reminded me of my grandmother, and every other grandmother I’ve ever met, actually. Coulthard is sensible and reliable as the conflicted Rosie, and her anguish at choosing between Cavan and her new life, and her obligation to take care of her Grandmother, is palpable. Cockamamy is a little rough around the edges, but it’s refreshing to hear a story about something that affects both ours, and an older generation.

Cockamamy is playing at The Hope Theatre until 21 June

Photo: Alex Brenner